As New Castle County and state energy regulators prepare to begin discussing potential restraints on the burgeoning data center industry in coming weeks, the developer behind a controversial Delaware City project lined up a significant ally: the region’s labor unions.

Last week, Starwood Digital Ventures, which wants to build a 6-million-square-foot data center dubbed Project Washington, signed a project labor agreement that promises to use 20 local unions, most of which are based in Delaware, to build the campus. 

“This agreement solidifies Project Washington’s commitment to working alongside high-skilled, local, and organized trade members throughout the construction of its campus,” the company said in a statement announcing the deal.

Starwood CEO Anthony Balestrieri said his company negotiated the agreement with James Maravelias, former president of the union coalition Delaware AFL-CIO and current president of the Delaware Building Trades. 

Maravelias did not respond to several requests for comment, but he posted on Facebook celebrating the deal. He also criticized unspecified organizations and politicians for perpetuating “lies or fear mongering” about the data center.